The logistics of organizing about 500 volunteers to place a flag by each of the roughly 200,000 grave markers at Riverside National Cemetery tends to consume every ounce of Brennan Leininger’s attention.

But every Veterans Day and Memorial Day, the moment comes when he looks up and sees red, white and blue fluttering over thousands of graves.

“It’s truly amazing, said Leininger, an Eastvale resident. “The sight of all the flags that people have volunteered to put out. It’s families making this a tradition, bringing their kids back year after year so they learn the importance of these holidays, veterans coming out to pay their respects, police explorers, fire explorers, ROTC groups.”

Volunteers continued the tradition Friday, Nov.10, making sure that, as the event’s title says, there is “a flag for every hero.”

Leininger, who spent eight years in the U.S. Air Force, came to the cemetery on Memorial Day in 2011 and saw that many graves were marked with flags.That was thanks to the efforts of volunteers led for years by Mary Ellen Gruendyke.

Leininger also saw that many graves were bare.

Each grave belongs to someone who served in the military or to a veteran’s immediate family, and each deserves respect on the holiday, Leininger said.

There’s also a value in teaching that respect to a younger generation, said Leininger, 41, which is why he’s heartened by the families, schools and youth groups that participate.

“I really wanted to put an emphasis and a value on making it a learning experience for our youth,” he said. “To see that come to fruition, for me, is more than I ever expected.”

Then, volunteers will meet again at the cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Blvd., at 8 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, to collect the flags until next time.

IF YOU GO

What: Veterans Day ceremony

When: 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11

Where: Riverside National Cemetery, 22495 Van Buren Blvd.

Details: The program will include the carrying of colors, a military flyover, musicians and a keynote speech by Paul Adkins, chairman of the Riverside National Cemetery Support Committee. The ceremony is expected to last one hour and 15 minutes.